DIY LED Using 10 Watt Arrays

[mseepman]

Do have suggestions but would love to come see your setup sometime Mike. I also liked those heatsinks so much I bought three myself today. I have 3 10w chips sitting doing nothing so I figure I'll do something with them now.

[daplatapus]

Hey Mike, can you just cut 2 matching arc shaped pieces of 1/2" ply or something and just stick them in 1/3 of the way from each end, effectively cutting the span of those strips to 16"?

[SeaHorse_Fanatic]

My main display's DIY LED unit using 10w emitters has a big enough Al heatsink that it uses NO fans and stays barely warm to the touch. Should consider upping the heatsink size/mass to dissipate the heat.

[mike31154]

Originally Posted by SeaHorse_Fanatic

My main display's DIY LED unit using 10w emitters has a big enough Al heatsink that it uses NO fans and stays barely warm to the touch. Should consider upping the heatsink size/mass to dissipate the heat.

I have no idea what an "Al heatsink" is or how many emitters you have attached to it, what your spacing is, so more details as to size, weight etc. would help. I'm trying to keep the weight of the fixture reasonable, so not too keen on adding excessive mass. This is the reason I went with the small heatsinks with individual fans in the outset. The fixture hangs by two anchors in the ceiling (I think one is in a stud, but the other is just in drywall), so I'd rather not take the chance on excessive weight causing my fixture to pull loose & fall. The new heatsinks I've used for the center rail seem to be doing the job without fans, so I'm fairly confident that modifying the remaining two rails with the same hardware with a couple of good quality fans to move some air through the fixture should be more than adequate.

More details on your fixture would be a great help. Do you have an update to your LED build thread?

[mike31154]

Originally Posted by daplatapus

Hey Mike, can you just cut 2 matching arc shaped pieces of 1/2" ply or something and just stick them in 1/3 of the way from each end, effectively cutting the span of those strips to 16"?

Thanks for the suggestion. I have considered an additional support near the center of the fixture, but there's just too much stuff in the way, wiring, terminal strips etc.

[mike31154]

Originally Posted by mseepman

Do have suggestions but would love to come see your setup sometime Mike. I also liked those heatsinks so much I bought three myself today. I have 3 10w chips sitting doing nothing so I figure I'll do something with them now.

Sure thing. My setup is pretty modest, but yeah, I'd be happy to let you have a look see some time. My schedule is pretty flexible, I'll shoot you my phone # by pm. I'm in the old part of town on Mission Hill, a few blocks southeast of the hospital. I've been planning an upgrade for years, room divider probably similar to what you've done, but not much progress due to other things in life keeping me busy & drawing on my finances.

[hillegom]

Mike instead of a center brace, a half moon, maybe a quarter moon shape in the middle will clear all the wiring, terminal blocks etc.

[SeaHorse_Fanatic]

Al is Aluminum. My lights use Aluminum bars connected into a heatsink. Dissipates heat well.

Small, light-weight heatsinks will have more trouble dissipating the heat from 10w emitters so you'll probably have to continue using fans.

[mike31154]

Originally Posted by SeaHorse_Fanatic

Al is Aluminum. My lights use Aluminum bars connected into a heatsink. Dissipates heat well.

Small, light-weight heatsinks will have more trouble dissipating the heat from 10w emitters so you'll probably have to continue using fans.

Ok, I thought by Al you may have meant AI as in Aqua Illumination, a heatsink from the company that makes LED fixtures which you used in making your DIY. So how thick or heavy are these bars? Some photos, dimensions etc. would certainly help me visualize what you're talking about. The new heatsinks I have are advertised to work without the need for fans as well and they've been doing the job on the center row of lights for a couple of weeks now. So if I were to consider what you're proposing/using, I'd need more info. Where did you get them?

[mike31154]

Here's what I've come up with for a cover. Mostly built, but need to fine tune, stain, cut vent holes, trim the edges & figure out the hanging scenario. The existing brackets for hanging don't protrude far enough through the new top. I suppose I could hang it from the top itself, but then I'd need to bolt the top to the frame & I'd rather have the top easily removable, so just resting on the frame. I'll figure something out.

Ended up getting a sheet of 1/8 mahogany plywood & fastening that to the end pieces. Amazing how stiff 1/8 ply can be when you're trying to bend it. I had to make two more semi arcs to support the plywood & make it bend properly in the center.